How to Complete the I-9 for Remote Workers

Once normal operations resume, all employees who were onboarded using remote verification, must report to their employer within three business days for in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation for Form I-9. Once acceptable documents have been physically inspected, the employer should add « documents physically examined » with the date of inspection to the additional information field in Section 2, or to Section 3 as appropriate. On the form, an employee must attest to their employment authorization. The employee must also present their employer with acceptable documents as evidence of identity and employment authorization. The employer must examine these documents to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee, then record the document information on the employee’s Form I-9.

  1. Certain employers who choose to remotely examine the employee’s documentation under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure rather than via physical examination must indicate they did so by checking the box provided.
  2. The following provides answers to some common questions addressing your obligations to complete and retain the I-9 form.
  3. All employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each employee at the time of hire.
  4. Employers must ensure they complete and retain a valid I-9 for each new hire, regardless of whether the employee works in the traditional workplace or remotely.
  5. Form I-9 may be generated, signed, and retained electronically, in compliance with Department of Homeland Security regulations at 8 CFR section 274a.2.
  6. Under federal rules, an authorized representative can technically be any person the employer designates to complete and sign the I-9 on its behalf.

Employers must complete and retain an I-9 for every employee hired in the United States on or after November 6, 1986. If the version of the I-9 that you used for the employee’s original verification is no longer valid, you must complete Section 3 of the current I-9 form upon re-verification and attach it to the original I-9 form. Make sure you use the new version of the I-9 by January 22, 2017, and complete and retain the form in accordance with the law. Employers must retain all completed pages of Form I-9 for a designated period and make them available for inspection by authorized government officers.

How to Complete the I-9 Form

The USCIS provides additional suggestions for conducting internal audits and addresses other issues that may arise. If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form. Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Although E-Verify uses information from Form I-9, there are some important differences between Form I-9 and E-Verify requirements. Employee must complete and attest that they are authorized to work in the U.S.

Before reviewing the documents, please ensure that the employee has properly completed Section 1, including checking the applicable status attestation, and signing and dating Section 1 of the I-9. Identity and work authorization documents are considered sufficient as long as the documentation was acceptable under the requirements of the I-9 in effect at the time it was completed. The DHS has proposed a rule that would create a framework under which the DHS Secretary could authorize alternative options for document examination procedures with respect to some or all employers. We will continue to keep you informed of any future developments related to the proposed rule for virtual/remote inspections.

What is different in the new version of the form?

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) temporary policy that allowed virtual inspection of documentation in some cases is about to expire on July 31. Employers must ensure they complete and retain a valid I-9 for each new hire, regardless of whether the employee works in the traditional workplace or remotely. If you have employees who have only received a virtual/remote examination of I-9 documents, then ensure you complete in-person physical examinations and annotate their I-9s by August 30, 2023. The authorized representative must then sign and date the I-9 on the employer’s behalf.

Q: How can I tell which version is the new one?

A sample form to provide these instructions to an authorized representative is included below. If you designate an authorized representative, state law adp i-9 form may restrict who can complete the I-9 on your behalf. Employers should also keep in mind that they are ultimately responsible for any I-9 violations.

This webinar, useful for prospective and new E-Verify users, is eligible for 1 professional development credit through SHRM and HRCI. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is the key element of E-Verify’s web-based employment eligibility verification. E-Verify electronically compares information https://adprun.net/ the employer enters from Form I-9 to records available to the Social Security Administration and the U.S. This verification confirms an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States. The temporary changes applied only to employers and workplaces operating remotely as a result of COVID-19.

Keep in mind that the employer is ultimately responsible for any I-9 violations. Therefore, if you, as the employer, designate a representative, then you should ensure that they have experience in completing the I-9 and you should review the I-9 completed by the designated representative to confirm it is error-free. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that employers temporarily will be allowed to inspect Form I-9 documents remotely in certain COVID-19 related situations.

If there are employees physically present at a work location, no exceptions apply. Form I-9 is a fillable form, which means you can type your answers directly on the form instead of printing a blank form and writing your answers by hand. Form I-9 may be generated, signed, and retained electronically, in compliance with Department of Homeland Security regulations at 8 CFR section 274a.2.

Q: Can I fire an employee who fails to produce the required documents within three business days of his or her start date?

If an employee’s employment authorization expires, they must present new or updated document(s) and the employer must examine and record the document number(s) here. The Form I-9 (I-9) is used to verify a new hire’s identity and work authorization. Employers must ensure that each employee properly completes the I-9 at the time of hire. Completing an I-9 can be more complicated for employees who are working remotely, especially now that a U.S.

Instead, employers could inspect the Section 2 documents remotely (such as, over video link, fax or email) and obtain, inspect, and retain copies of the documents, within three business days for purposes of completing Section 2. For an example of how to notate the I-9 for remote inspection click here. The authorized representative is commonly an attorney or notary public. Under federal rules, an authorized representative can technically be any person the employer designates to complete and sign the I-9 on its behalf.

However, state law may restrict who can complete the I-9 on the employer’s behalf. For example, California limits such services to licensed attorneys, individuals authorized under federal law to provide immigration services, and individuals qualified and bonded as an immigration consultant under state law. If an employer is unable to physically meet with the worker to review original I-9 documents, then federal law allows employers to use an authorized representative to fulfill this function on the employer’s behalf. The following is a checklist for completing the I-9 for remote workers after the temporary policy ends, and when using an authorized representative. All employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each employee at the time of hire.

The Form I-9 is used to verify a new hire’s identity and work authorization. Completing an I-9 can be more complicated for employees who are working remotely due the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some guidelines for completing the I-9 for remote workers.